


Moving On

by Starros



Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Pre-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28080309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starros/pseuds/Starros
Summary: Orion’s optics slowly flicker online in the darkness. He listens to muffled sobs coming from the other side of the berth...again. They're sounds he's become all too familiar with lately...Starscream struggles with the loss of Skyfire.
Relationships: Jetfire | Skyfire & Starscream (Transformers), Optimus Prime/Starscream
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	Moving On

**I**

Orion’s optics slowly flicker online in the darkness. He listens to muffled sobs coming from the other side of the berth...again. They're sounds he's become all too familiar with lately.

“Shh it’s alright, Star,” he murmurs, pulling his sparkmate close. 

Starscream buries his face in Orion’s chest.

The weeping goes on.

**II**

“I miss him.” 

Starscream looks so lost. So empty. 

Orion pushes a mug toward him, begging him to refuel. It’s Starscream’s favorite: hot oil with magnesium shavings and a pinch of iron. But, Starscream merely stares at it with dull, vacant optics. 

“I’m so sorry.” Orion reaches across the table and clasps Starscream’s servo in his, squeezing gently. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Starscream mumbles a soft 'no.' 

Orion doesn’t know what else to do. What’s even left to say that hasn't already been said since The Incident? He desperately wishes he could stay with Starscream this morning. Be there for him in these moments of excruciating grief.

But, the docks await, busy and understaffed as ever.

He kisses Stascream on the helm before he leaves. “I love you,” he says. “Take care of yourself today, okay?” 

**III**

The world goes on.

It’s nearly been one hundred cycles since Skyfire was swept away in a storm on a distant planet. One hundred cycles since Starscream arrived home from the fateful expedition, falling to his knees and and letting out anguished cries that would haunt Orion’s dreams for years to come. _I couldn’t find him. I couldn’t find him. It’s all my fault._

Since then, the lively, talkative bot Orion knew became a shadow of himself, withdrawing from life and sometimes abandoning words entirely. 

But, Orion keeps trying.

“You know...we should go out one of these evenings,” he suggests. They’re sitting on the balcony of their high rise apartment, gazing up at the moons in the clear sky and listening to the soothing sounds of the city’s nightlife. Orion gently massages Starscream’s wings. “Maybe we can visit the theater again. The big one downtown.”

“I’d like that.” Starscream leans his helm back, resting against Orion and letting out a relaxed sigh. 

Orion’s sparkbeat speeds up. Is he finally getting somewhere?

Silence falls between them for a moment before Starscream speaks again, his voice quavery. “I always wonder what would’ve happened if I looked one more time.” He begins to tremble slightly. “What if he’s still alive? What if he was injured and I...I just left him there?” 

Orion rubs soothing circles into Starscream’s wings. 

It’s alright, he wants to say, but he keeps quiet this time. 

Because, no matter how many times he says it, it’s _not_ alright. 

It may never be alright.

Orion himself still struggles to process the loss. While he hadn’t known Skyfire that well, he and Starscream used to meet up with the scientist at Maccadam’s Oil House when their busy schedules allowed (sometimes Orion's dockworker friends Dion and Ariel would join them). Orion was forever grateful to Skyfire for being a companion to his beloved. Starscream always had such a hard time making friends, frequently lamenting how everyone at the lab mocked him, talked about him behind his back. 

Everyone except Skyfire.

It pains Orion to know he’ll never see the kindly bot again. 

**IV**

Starscream announces that he’s quitting his job, giving up research at the science center for good.

Orion gapes at him. He can’t mean it! But, it’s impossible to ignore the fiery determination in Starscream’s optics, something he hasn’t seen in a while. When he gets that look, there’s no stopping him. 

“I can’t stay there,” Starscream says firmly. “It just hasn’t been the same since he...since he died.”

_Died._

This is the first time either of them use the word. It’s always disappeared. Vanished. Lost contact with. 

Orion embraces Starscream, promises that he’ll support him.

They’ll make it through. Together.

  
**V**

“I didn’t know you hated horror holos that much,” Starscream says, his optics shining with amusement and the corners of his lips turning up slightly. 

Orion’s spark clenches. He’s missed that smile.

They're joined servo-in-servo, heading down the bustling streets of Iacon after leaving the theater. The shiny, metal buildings around them are aglow with orange light as the sun dips low in the sky.

“How can you stand that stuff? I’m going to have cosmic rust nightmares for megacycles now.” Orion ended up clinging to Starscream in terror by the time the holo was over.

Starscream laughs, but his expression quickly turns somber. “I’ve missed doing things together,” he says, optics drifting to the sidewalk. “I’m sorry for being such an emotional drain. I--”

“You lost your best friend,” Orion says gently. “It’s not bad to grieve. Please..just take as much time as you need. I’ll always be here for you.”

Starscream lets go of Orion’s servo and slips an arm around his waist instead. “Thank you for everything,” he says. “Love you, Orion.”

After walking and chatting for a bit, catching up on things they haven’t talked about in what feels like ages, they stop in front of an electronics shop with loads of shiny gadgets in the display window. A large, high definition holoscreen plays news footage of the infamous new models of robots. The ones who can soar through the sky in their root modes. 

When Orion glances over at Starscream, the jet is staring transfixed at the images flashing before him. He steps closer, his scarlet optics wide when the leader of the fearsome warriors comes on screen and yells about following his army into a brighter future. 

Orion and Starscream eventually keep strolling. 

This time Starscream is silent, seemingly lost in his own processor. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, y'all! I've finally been getting around to some of my WIPs. (These two are my favorite Transformers characters and I love them together).


End file.
